November 1, 2018: IRES Faculty Seminar Speaker: Amanda Giang

Amanda Giang

Assistant Professor, IRES and Department of Mechanical Engineering

Bio

Amanda Giang’s research addresses challenges at the interface of environmental modelling and policy through an interdisciplinary lens, with a focus on air pollution and toxics. She is interested in understanding how environmental assessment processes can better empower communities and inform policy decision-making. How can we assess the environmental and health impacts of human activity given uncertainty and complexity in human, technological, and natural systems? How can different ways of knowing inform policy design and evaluation? How can we integrate scientific analysis and public deliberation in policy decision-making? Combining integrated modelling and qualitative approaches, her ongoing and past research on mercury, lead, and persistent organic pollutants has explored these questions in the context of North American and global policy. Future areas of interest include the impacts of technology and policy on pollutant fate and transport, citizen science and community based monitoring for air toxics, and policy implications of climate and air pollution interactions. Amanda holds a PhD and MS in Technology and Policy from MIT, and a BASc in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto.